STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Utah Valley University secured a regular-season sweep of Tarleton State, 65-51 on Thursday night. Kaylee Headrick scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season to co-lead Utah Valley (14-12, 7-8) with Cambree Blackham, who also finished with 19 points. It's the third win over Tarleton State (12-15, 6-10) this season in the triple round robin conference format.
 
Halle Nelson added eight points and eight rebounds, while Gracie Sorenson scored nine points and pulled down four boards as the Wolverines shot 44% from the field and went 5 for 10 from 3-point range (50%).
 
"It was great to get another road win," Utah Valley head coach Dan Nielson said. "Our defense really set the tone in the first half. I thought Cambree and Kaylee were very aggressive offensively, and Halle did a great job guarding their post player. Overall, I was really proud of our whole group tonight."
 
Utah Valley shot 50% from the field in the first quarter, led by Nelson, who scored the Wolverines' first four points. The Wolverines' defense was stout early, forcing three turnovers in the opening three minutes. Headrick's offensive rebound with under two minutes left in the quarter led to a Blackham 3-pointer that gave UVU a 13-10 lead. Sorenson followed with a post move to extend the margin to five before Tarleton State closed the quarter with a corner 3-pointer.
 
Blackham opened the second quarter with her second 3-pointer of the game. Utah Valley used a 9-0 run midway through the period to build a 29-18 lead. Sorenson hit a step-back jumper in the paint, Headrick converted a layup and Blackham knocked down another 3 with 3:25 remaining in the half to push the lead into double figures.
 
The Wolverines shot 50% (13 of 26) in the first half, scoring 20 of their 33 points in the paint.
 
Utah Valley opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run to regain an 11-point advantage with 5:53 remaining. Nelson scored on a layup before Kylee Mabry added a jumper and Blackham converted at the free-throw line. A scoring drought of more than six minutes allowed Tarleton State to close the gap, including a 9-0 run late in the quarter to cut the deficit to 42-38 entering the fourth.
 
Headrick buried a corner 3-pointer to extend the lead to 49-40 with under eight minutes to play. The Wolverines then pulled away with a 7-0 run over a span of 3:02 to build a 61-47 advantage with 1:04 remaining. Utah Valley went 9 for 13 at the free-throw line in the final quarter to seal the win. Amanda Barcello was a perfect 6 for 6 from the line in the period.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley wraps up its final trip to Texas with a Saturday matinee at Abilene Christian. The Wolverines will close the regular season next week at home against Southern Utah and Utah Tech.